The top 10 US restaurants, according to the experts
These standout tables channel Jamaica, Guadalajara, southern Thailand, Cantonese tradition, and more.
The best restaurants in America right now aren't just serving memorable meals; they're telling personal stories. The top 10 for 2026 channels a wide map of influences, from Guadalajara and Jamaica to southern Thailand and South India, filtered through the ingredients and energy of their home cities. Some occupy Michelin-starred dining rooms; others buzz with the energy of a joyful neighborhood hang, but all of them share a common thread — chefs cooking with conviction and celebrating their roots while pushing American dining forward. From coast to coast, these are the restaurants worth traveling for.
01 of 10
Winner: Kabawa (New York City)
Chef Paul Carmichael celebrates his Caribbean heritage in New York's East Village, where the former Momofuku Ko space now houses Kabawa, a collaboration with the Momofuku group. Opened in March 2025, the restaurant centers on counter seating around an open kitchen, turning out dishes that pull from across the Caribbean, like electric red pepper shrimp, breadfruit toston, and jerk duck sausage. The three-course prix fixe, with several choices offered for each course, is ideally experienced with a group to taste the full range; at the end of the night, the neighboring Bar Kabawa makes a strong case for one more patty and daiquiri.
02 of 10
Alma Fonda Fina (Denver)
When it opened in late 2023, Alma Fonda Fina brought contemporary Mexican cooking to Denver's LoHi neighborhood — and it's already earned serious attention, including one Michelin star, Michelin's 2024 Young Chef Award for chef Johnny Curiel, and a 2025 James Beard Best New Restaurant finalist. Curiel started working in his family's Guadalajara restaurant at 14 before moving to Colorado for culinary school, and that foundation shows in every dish. At the chef's counter inside the bright 38-seat dining room, the menu moves fluidly from bright seafood crudos to agave-roasted sweet potato and crisp-edged pork belly carnitas tucked into sourdough flour tortillas. Pair it all with an avocado margarita from the excellent cocktail menu.
03 of 10
Canje (Austin)
Bold spice and unapologetic heat define Canje, where Caribbean cooking takes center stage in East Austin. Chef Tavel Bristol-Joseph — a 2025 James Beard Outstanding Chef semifinalist and 2020 Food & Wine Best New Chef — draws from his Guyanese heritage and across the islands, turning out pepper fish fragrant with aromatics, rich West Indian curry, and dark, slow-cooked pepperpot built on cassareep (a thick, cassava root syrup that’s a staple in Guyanese cuisine.) The cocktail program matches that intensity with signature drinks like the Curry Wata, made with curry gin, mango-apple chutney, and citrus, and frozen riffs that cut right through the heat.
04 of 10
Dogon (Washington D.C.)
2019 Food & Wine Best New Chef Kwame Onwuachi made his long-awaited return to Washington, D.C. in 2024 with Dōgon, an Afro-Caribbean dining room inside the Salamander hotel built on big flavors and stories. Named for the West African Dogon tribe and inspired by Benjamin Banneker — the Black astronomer-surveyor who mapped the District’s original boundary in the 18th century — the restaurant weaves local history with Onwuachi's Nigerian, Jamaican, Trinidadian, and Creole roots. The signature hoe crab with aji verde is a must, as are mains like Mom Dukes Shrimp and berbere roasted chicken paired with jollof rice. Since opening, the restaurant has earned a slew of accolades, including TIME World’s Greatest Places 2025.
05 of 10
Emeril's (New Orleans)
Few American restaurants have had a longer, louder influence than Emeril’s — and its current chapter feels just as exciting as its first. Opened in 1990 in New Orleans' Warehouse District, the flagship defined Emeril Lagasse's "New New Orleans" style. After a major 2023 renovation, his son, E.J. Lagasse now runs the kitchen with a refined, technique-driven approach to Louisiana flavors, with no shortage of fun. A bite-sized po-boy canape kicks things off, and classic Nola shaved ice arrives tableside via trolley to close the night. (Butter devotees take note: a towering selection also makes the trolley rounds like a salted fever dream.) The tasting menu is pure pleasure, a fact Michelin recognized by awarding two stars in its American South edition.
06 of 10
Hayato (Los Angeles)
Credit: Photo by Dylan + Jeni
Tucked inside the ROW DTLA complex, a 30-acre creative campus of repurposed warehouse buildings, you’ll find the Michelin two-star Hayato. The intimate, seven-seat counter is an exercise in precision and restraint, where 2019 Food & Wine Best New Chef Brandon Go serves a kaiseki-style omakase that spotlights peak-season vegetables and pristine seafood and broths. In the hushed room, each course arrives like a small, complete idea, presented on beautiful Japanese tableware. With just one seating each night and reservations that disappear instantly, the experience is both joyful and rare.
07 of 10
Semma (New York City)
The first bite at Semma arrives with a crackle: the gunpowder dosa, a rice-and-lentil crepe folded around potato masala, is served with fiery sambar and cooling chutneys. Right from the jump, James Beard Award-winning chef Vijay Kumar (of Unapologetic Foods) keeps the focus on the flavors of his Tamil Nadu upbringing — curry leaves, coconut, black pepper, and chiles — presented with fine-dining polish. Order clay-pot stews and boldly spiced seafood and meats for the table, and the lively West Village room provides the perfect backdrop. Reservations are famously tough to snag, but even a bar seat at the Michelin-starred spot delivers that same bold heat and perfume of toasted spices that make Semma essential.
08 of 10
Kalaya (Philadelphia)
Palm fronds and the fragrant aroma of curry paste fill the buzzing dining room at Kalaya, James Beard Award-winning chef Chutatip "Nok" Suntaranon's celebration of southern Thai cooking. What started as a 32-seat South Philly BYOB in 2019 (named a Food & Wine Best New Restaurant in 2020) has grown into a more spacious Fishtown destination with a full bar and an even more festive energy. Suntaranon doesn't hold back on heat or bold coastal flavors from her home region, underscored by colorful curries and bright salads. Start with gu chai (crisp rice cakes with sweet soy) and exquisite bird-shaped cod dumplings, then move to the showstoppers like steamed whole branzino or tom yum crowned with jumbo river prawns.
09 of 10
Kann (Portland)
Portland’s hottest table is also one of its most personal. At Kann, three-time James Beard Award-winning chef Gregory Gourdet cooks a live-fire love letter to Haiti, weaving Scotch bonnet heat, epis aromatics, and abundant spice into the Pacific Northwest’s seasonal bounty. The family-style parade of dishes are meant for sharing, from warm plantain brioche buns with plant-based epis butter and smoked shrimp curry with pickled green tomatoes to impeccably charred seafood and meats. The room hums with energy and the experience feels celebratory from start to finish.
10 of 10
Mister Jiu's (San Francisco)
In the heart of San Francisco's Chinatown, Michelin-starred Mister Jiu’s is where chef-owner Brandon Jew interprets Cantonese tradition through a distinctly Californian lens. Seasonal produce and local seafood anchor dishes, whether you opt for the lively banquet-style meal centered on Peking-style whole roasted duck with pancakes, sauces, and herbs, or go à la carte with dumplings, noodles, and seasonal vegetables. The sleek landmark space sets the scene, but the night isn't complete without heading upstairs for cocktails at Moongate Lounge.
To uncover the best food and drink experiences for travelers, Food & Wine polled over 400 chefs, travel experts, food and travel writers, and wine pros from across the globe for their top culinary travel experiences. We then turned the results over to our Global Advisory Board, who ranked the top nominees in each category. For the full list of winners, visit foodandwine.com/globaltastemakers2026.
